02.01† An external
audit is any review or investigation regarding compliance, financial or
operational information, safeguarding and verification of assets, economical
and efficient use of resources, and effectiveness of operations or programs
conducted by external agencies such as public accounting firms, governmental
auditors, regulatory offices, and funding sources.

02.02† This definition
excludes reviews by accrediting bodies and by consultants hired by the
university.

03.†††††† PROCEDURES
FOR THE MANAGERS OF AREAS AUDITED

03.01† Any university
department or operation that is contacted by an external auditor or funding
source about an audit is required to refer them to the universityís director of
Audits and Analysis.

03.02† The manager of
the department or operation audited should submit responses to external audit
findings through the director of Audits and Analysis and the appropriate vice
president for approval prior to release. The director of Audits and Analysis
will not prepare responses for other departments but will review and advise as
appropriate.

03.03† If, at any time, the audited or other
university departments have questions about the audit or issues raised during
the audit, they should consult with the universityís director of Audits and Analysis.

03.04† The audited departmentís manager should keep
a copy of all audit responses submitted, as well as copies of the final audit
report, in the departmentís master files in accordance with state and
university records retention schedules.

03.05† Upon receipt of
a final audit report, the manager of the audited department has primary
responsibility for ensuring that management responses are implemented within
the time frame specified.

04.†††††† PROCEDURES
FOR AUDITS AND ANALYSIS

04.01† The director of
Audits and Analysis will function as the liaison between the university and
external auditors, coordinating audit efforts, and facilitating their work on
campus. In carrying out this responsibility, the director of Audits and Analysis
will assist the university by ensuring that:

a.†† audit efforts
minimize unnecessary duplication of
work; and

b.†† external auditors have access to appropriate
university information and personnel to ensure that information gathered is
relevant, complete, and appropriate. †

04.02† The director of
Audits and Analysis should advise the external auditor of expected protocol
(described in Section 05.).

04.03† The director of
Audits and Analysis will ensure that copies of all external audit reports are
sent to the system director of Audits and Analysis at The Texas State
University System Office.

04.04† The director of
Audits and Analysis will perform follow-up work to ensure that management
implements plans in each external audit by the date provided by management and included
in the external auditorís audit report. In the event that management cannot or has
not implemented plans, the director of Audits and Analysis shall notify the
vice president for the area audited, the system director of Audits and
Analysis, and other appropriate administrators to effect implementation or
revise procedures, as the circumstances warrant.

05.†††††† PROTOCOL
EXPECTED DURING EXTERNAL AUDITS

05.01† Departments that request
delegated authority from the State Auditorís Office to procure external audit
services need to comply with Texas Government Code Section 321.020.
External auditors are expected to follow the protocol described below when
conducting an audit of any department or operation of the university. All audit conferences must include managers
of the audited areas, as well as a representative of Audits and Analysis. †

a.†† Auditors, representatives from Audits and Analysis,
and officials responsible for the audited areas will hold an entrance
conference.

b.†† Representatives of Audits and Analysis and
the audited department will hold interim conferences when significant potential
problems are identified.†

c.†† The parties will hold an exit conference to
review findings prior to preparing the final report.† †

d.†† The divisional vice president will attend or
send a representative to all conferences, as warranted.†

e.†† The auditors will submit a draft audit report
to the director of Audits and Analysis prior to preparation of the final audit
report.† †

06.†††††† REVIEWERS
OF THIS UPPS

06.01† Reviewers of
this UPPS include the following:

Position†††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† Date

Director of Audits and Analysis†††††††††††††††† November 1 E4Y

†

07.†††††† CERTIFICATION
STATEMENT

This UPPS has been approved by the following individuals in
their official capacities and represents Texas State policy and procedure from
the date of this document until superseded.